This invention relates generally to personal identification (ID), access control and monitoring systems involving an ID reader and an ID unit responsive thereto for ID code processing and verification. More particularly, the invention relates to a system involving position- and orientation-tolerant, physical contact between a two electrical contact ID unit preferably worn on the person and a multiple electrical contact ID unit detector and ID reader, the system having been found to be particularly effective in controlling and monitoring the whereabouts of snow skiers.
Prior art ID, access and inventory control systems involve various contact and non-contact configurations in which an article or person passes a checkpoint and it is identified and/or is allowed or denied entry based on predetermined control criteria. Exemplary of a non-contact system are point-of-sale bar-code readers used in merchandising outlets such as grocery stores by which purchased articles are identified, priced and inventory-controlled. Exemplary of a contact system are magnetic card readers used in secure facilities that verify the authority of a cardholder to enter or depart a controlled area by which a lock on a door automatically may be released and failing which entry is denied. These and other systems rely upon the controlled manipulation of an article carrying the identifying marks, whether it be a purchased article or a card. Such systems are error-prone, even in the relatively controlled environments in which they typically are found, because they depend upon some form of radio frequency (RF) signal, optical, magnetic or acoustic coupling through a medium such as air between the ID-encoded media and the media reader.
In harsh environments such as snow ski areas, where moisture, sub-zero temperatures and electromagnetic interference (EMI) from nearby ski lifts have rendered access control and monitoring systems particularly unreliable, there is yet a need reliably to control access to lifts and to monitor the whereabouts of skiers. Skiers of different sizes and ski levels--all subject to cold weather and laden with clothing and ski equipment that restricts their mobility and dexterity--must pass checkpoints, e.g. ski lift entry points, to gain access to the slopes. While they tend to relieve the skier of this volitional burden, mechanical systems by which, for example, a lift ticket is verified and punched or a bar code thereon is read by a wand are ski resort staff labor-intensive. Automatic ID scanning systems that attempted to utilize RF, optical, acoustic or magnetic coupling or telecommunication between an ID-encoded medium and an ID medium reader would be subject to the reliability problems described above, which problems would be heightened by environmental concerns.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an automatic personal ID, access control and monitoring system suitable for use in harsh environments such as snow ski areas.
Another important object of the invention is to provide such a system that imposes no unreasonable requirements or constraints on a snow skier.
Yet another object is to provide such a system that includes a wearable ID-encoded unit having two electrical contacts and an ID reader having multiple, two-dimensionally arrayed electrical contacts whereby the latter provides a large-area target for the casual skier to impact with the ID-encoded unit contacts.
An also important object is to provide such a system that is capable of reliably verifying a skier's authority to pass a checkpoint regardless of the position or orientation of the ID-encoded unit.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such a system at reasonable cost.
Briefly summarized, the invention is a personal ID, access control and monitor system found to be particularly useful in ski lift ticketing and boarding applications. The system in accordance with its preferred embodiment includes a skier limb-worn armband ID device having a conventional integrated circuit (IC) ID code generator and dual spaced electrical contacts cooperative with a multiple electrical contact detector array and associated electronics that, upon even momentary contact by the armband contacts, in virtually any position or orientation, is capable of accurately and reliably reading the IC ID code and determining by comparison to a computer access control data base whether the skier has access authority to a nearby ski lift.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and the following description of the preferred method and embodiment.